Onboarding is important full stop. It introduces your new employee to their role, to your company philosophy, and to what your organisation has to offer. It embeds an employee physically, emotionally, and psychologically into an organisation, and the sooner this is done, the sooner employees can hit the ground running and begin contributing to the company.
So why just focus on onboarding for Millennials? A large portion of today’s workforce is made up of Millennials. For the purposes of this blog post, we’ll define this generation – as per Deloitte’s definition – as those born between 1980 and 1995. Often referred to as the ‘job-hopping generation’, this age group has a reputation as a loyalty-light generation with high expectations of the employee experience and technology. Having grown up with a wealth of technology at their fingertips, it’s hardly surprising that according to research by PwC, 41% of millennials say they prefer to communicate electronically at work than face to face or even over the telephone.
Here we outline five reasons why a positive onboarding experience is key to retaining Millennial employees, and some tips on how to offer them a positive onboarding experience.
1. Millennials are the future workforce
For the last few years, Millennials have been entering employment in vast numbers, and will continue to shape the world of work for years to come.
Millennials are by no means the only segment of the workforce – and the slightly younger Gen Zs are certainly a generation to be reckoned with – but Millennials’ views are important when we consider that by 2025, they will comprise 75% of the global workforce.
2. Millennials are less loyal to their employers
The stats on a poor onboarding experience speak for themselves. New employees who are part of a well-structured onboarding orientation program are 82% more likely to remain at a company for up to three years.
So, once a candidate has accepted your job offer, it’s critical to keep things moving quickly and to retain the momentum and excitement that comes with accepting a new job. This means sending the contract through quickly, maintaining communication with the candidate throughout the process, and providing a seamless onboarding workflow.
3. Millennials expect next-generation technology
Given that 93% of Millennials cited modern and up-to-date technology as one of the most important aspects of a workplace, it’s clear that a positive first impression of a company’s technology is important during the onboarding phase.
HROnboard’s technology automates the creation, sending and processing of job offers through a fully-customisable onboarding experience helps to make the job acceptance process seamless – leaving a positive impression of you as an employer and your efficient use of technology.
4. Millennials value a customised experience
A one-size-fits-all approach to onboarding won’t wow your Millennials. Having grown up in a digital and increasingly customisable world, Millennials expect a high degree of personalisation with most things in their life.
By acknowledging this, organisations can offer their newly hired Millennials a fully personalised onboarding experience using HROnboard’s hassle-free induction journey that reflects the new hire’s individuality.
For further information on HROnboard’s Personalised Journeys, read our blog.
5. Millennials like clear expectations
Millennials expect to know exactly how you want them to perform. Providing a clear introduction and overview of their job will go a long way in communicating this – as well as outlining the ‘dos and don’ts’ for things like communication, leadership, working hours, annual leave, etc. Onboarding should provide the Millennial with a basic understanding of the following: culture, values and vision, roles and responsibilities, training and safety, and ethics/accountability.
This blog only presents top-level results from one section of the ELMO 2021 HR Industry Benchmark Report. If you’d like a comprehensive overview of HR and payroll trends, challenges, use of metrics and technology, download your report today. The HR Industry Benchmark Report provides in-depth insights into the current state of end-to-end HR processes, including recruitment and onboarding, learning & development, performance management, and more. Data in our report is split by company size, geography (Australia / New Zealand), role seniority, and industry^ – enabling you to benchmark your current HR practices against your peers.
HROnboard, an ELMO company, offers a best-in-class software solution that reduces the amount of time HR teams and leaders spend securing the best candidates and undertaking the critical onboarding process for new hires. Our solution also helps manage internal employee role changes and can create a smooth and seamless process for exiting employees. To find out more, reach us here.
ELMO Software offers people, pay and process solutions for the entire employee lifecycle, from ‘hire to retire’. This includes recruitment, learning, performance management, payroll, rostering / time & attendance, expense management, and more. For further information, contact us.
^Report+ only